Reversing car-seat base



Oct. 3; 1939. w. STAVELEY 2, 3

REVERS ING CAR-SEAT BASE Filed April 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l I free/@2277" b w %/zflfzi JEEP/day m g g 44W,

Oct. 3, 1939. w. STAVELEY REVERSING CAR-SEAT BASE Filed April 8, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y u. A 5 .w A vi... 1 W W/HQ Patented Oct. 3, 1939 U NI T ED STAT ES PATENT OFFIC E REVERSIN G C-AR- SEAT BASE Application April 8, 1938, Serial No. 200,823

2 Claims.

This invention relates to reversing car-seat bases of thetype which permits a vehicle seat carriage to turn about a vertical axis, the carriage being guided during the turning movement so that this axis shifts away from the vehicle wall during the initial portion of the reversing movement and shifts back toward the 'wall during the final portion of the reversing movement.

The object of structures of this kind is to enable the corners of the seat to clear the wall and to clear the backs of adjacent seats during the turning movement. Such mechanism makes it possible to mount the chair closer to the wall than would be possible if the chair were to turn *about a stationary axis. Thus maximum aisle space is obtained and minimum spacing between center lines of successive seats is made possible.

According'to the present invention, guiding means consisting essentially of three arcuate cam edges and two cam followers is provided to guide and control the reversing movement of the seat under its pedestal. The cam followers are preferably mounted on the seat carriage and project downwardly therefrom for engagement with the cam edges which are on top of the stationary pedestal. If desired, however, the cam followers may be mounted on the pedestal and the cam edges may be on the carriage. The cam edges and cam followers are so arranged that the former are always in contact with the latter.

Further characteristics of the invention are more specifically described hereinafter and are illustrated on the drawings of which Figure l is a front elevation of a vehicle seat in the base of which the invention is embodied.

Figure 2 is a sectional View on the line 22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a sectional view on the line 4--4 of Figure 3.

The chair structure illustrated in Figure 1 includes a stationary pedestal H! which has a flat top- I2 and which is preferably secured to the floor of a vehicle as by suitable bolts l4. Slidable on the upper surface of the fiat top I2 is a seat carriage which, as indicated in the drawings, may include a plate or carriage member l6 slidable upon a flat top [2 of the pedestal. A number of spider arms l8 are secured to the plate 16 to support a seat frame 20. The seat may be provided with arm rests 22, one or more back members 24, and any other accessories desired.

The seat is adapted to be reversed through an angle of 180 so that it can face in opposite directions. The reversing movement of the seat is controlled by guiding means consisting of a pair of cam followers 30 and 32 which ride in cam slots such as are illustrated in Figure 3, these cam slots being cut or otherwise formed in the top-12 of the pedestal. The cam follower 36 ridesin'an arcuate slot 34 and is guided therein by contact with the concave arcuate cam edge 36 which is circular from end to end. The cam follower 32 rides in-a pair of arcuate slots 38 and 49 whiohintersect at 42. This cam follower is guided by the control cam edges 44 and. 46 and is always in'contact with one or both of these cam edges. Figure 3 shows the cam follower 30at one extreme end of the cam edge 36; When the cam follower 33 is in'thisposition, its center is the center of curvature of the cam edge 44. Likewise, when the cam follower 30 is at the other extreme end of the cam edge 36,'-its center is the center of curvature of the cam edge 46. Thus, 20 when the cam follower 30 is in the position shown in Figure 3, the cam follower 32 as it travels along the cam edge 44 must remain substantially in contact therewith, and when the cam follower 30 is at the other extreme end of the cam slot 34, the cam follower 32 can travel along the cam edge 46 but must remain substantially in contact therewith. If the cam follower 32 is moved to the intersection 42, it is then in contact with both cam edges 44 and 46, and when in this position its center is the center of curvature of the cam edge 36. Thus, when the cam follower 32 is at the intersection 42, the cam follower 36 can move along the slot 34 but is always substantially in contact with the cam edge 36. Thus it is evident 35 that the essential portions of the guiding means are the concave arcuate cam edges 36, 44 and. 46 and the two cam followers 30 and 32 which are at all times in contact with these cam edges. As is evident from Figure 3, the cam edges are sym- 40 metrical with respect to the end-to-end center line of the seat, and the four points defined by the centers of the cam followers 30 and 32 when at the extreme ends of the cam edges lie in the front-to-rear center line of the seat. 45

When a seat is moved from the position indicated in Figure 3 to its reversed position, the cam follower 32 travels along the edge 44 until it reaches the intersection point 42, the cam follower 36 remaining stationary during this in- 50 terval. When the cam follower 32 reaches the intersection 42 so that it is in contact with both of the cam edges 44 and 46, it then remains stationary while the cam follower 30 travels along the cam edge 36 to its other extreme edge.

Thereupon, the cam follower 3E remains stationary while the cam follower 32 travels along the cam edge 4+5 to the extreme edge thereof, this resulting in the completion of the reversing movement. When the seat is turned back to its orig inal position, these movements take place in the reverse order.

The cam followers 3% and 32 are preferably in the form of, or are made to include, rollers to minimize friction with the cam edges. As shown, the cam followers are provided with flanges 5t and 52 portions of which engage the under face of the top 12 so as to retain the seat carriage on the top. In order to hold the seat carriage down more securely when in either of its positions for use, a number of hold-down members 5 55 and 58 may be mounted upon the pedestal to overhang portio-ns of the carriage member it. These hold-down members are preferably so distributed as to engage widely spaced portions of the carriage member I6 so as to hold the carriage and seat against any wabbling movement when the seat is in either of its positions for use.

The seat may be locked in position by any suitable mechanism such, for example, as a plunger 6!! vertically slidable upward through the pedestal top I2 to engage in one or the other of a pair of apertures 62 and M in the carriage member iii. As indicated in Figure 4, the plunger 68 is pivotally connected to a lever 65, the latter being rockably mounted as at 68. A compression spring 7!! tends to rock the lever 66 so as to move the plunger iii! into looking position. The lever 66 may be rocked to release the seat by stepping on a suitable treadle 12 which projects toward the aisles from the pedestal in. This releases the seat which may then be swung around to its reversed position for use.

Various modifications and changes may be made in the particular embodiment of the invention herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A reversible car-seat base, comprising a pedestal, a seat carriage horizontally slidable on said pedestal, and means for guiding the reversing movements of said carriage, said guiding means consisting of three arcuate cam edges on said pedestal and a pair of cam followers projecting down from said carriage to ride along said cam edges from end to end, the center of curvature of each said cam edge being the center of one of said cam followers when it is at an extreme end of one of the other two cam edges.

2. A reversible car-seat base, comprising a pedestal having a horizontal top, a seat carriage having a member slidable on said top, and means for guiding the reversing movements of said carriage, said guiding means comprising a cam edge on top in t e shape of a concave circular are, a cam follower projecting down from said carriage member to engage said cam edge and slidable along said edge from end to end thereof, a pair of cam edges on said top in the shape of intersecting concave circular arcs, and a second cam follower projecting from said carriage member and constantly engaging one or both of said pair of cam edges, the centers of curvature of said pair of cam edges being the center of said firstmentioned cam foliower when at the extreme ends of the first-mentioned cam edge, the center of curvature of the first-mentioned cam edge being the center of the second cam follower when in engagement with both of said pair of cam edges.

WILFORD STAVELEY. 

